Darker Light Magic
by animefreak1457
Summary: AU Mana was studying for three years under her elven aunt.  During one break, Mana got attacked and was saved by a powerful magician, who seemed to know her. Now, she realizes that she could perform both light and dark magic that was impossible to do.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Light and dark has become the source of everyone's existence. It wasn't elemental like the water to quench the everlasting thirst or the fire to provide the warmth of its flames. It wasn't like the earth to uphold all living things, and it wasn't like the wind to breathe in to survive. Both were born before all of those elements came around to provide the creatures a world to live on. The creatures did not know how the light and dark came around, but they knew that before all of elements came in and the coming of day and night, the world was nothing.

At the beginning of time, it was nothingness. It was not called to be darkness because darkness did not have its own name to be called on. This "nothing" was a cold, empty word that no living creature could ever live within the current state. It was suffocating that all beings could have died or become nonexistent when no creation was created in this nothingness. It ruled over everything and seemed to laugh as something tried to be created, only that something continuously failed to make it live, breathe, and solidify. However, from somewhere else, light appeared unexpectedly, brightening the nothingness from its empty shell. The light shined so brightly that it now had a twin, contrasting its shine. Darkness was dark, dull, and could be considered pitch black; however, it is not a "nothing." As the light became day and the darkness became night, the world began to change and create.

Lands began to rise from the watery birth, and fire exploded from being kept inside for so long. The wind became very violent that it spread the ashes of the fire and earth across the lands and brought the water against the fiery liquid to form structure. Fire came first; water helped form structures of the surfaces; wind helped the water by blowing harshly against the fire. After the chaotic magnitudes and the storm of the three elements, the last element, earth, decided to bring in life. In the beginning, sprouts of green began to rise from the wet soils from the land. Whether it'd be hot or cold, the signs of life were beginning to form from the ground. As days and nights passed by, all signs of green life were now towering over each other. Some decided to stay on the ground; others decided to reach for the sky. A few went to the waters, never to be seen by its brethren. Its three elemental siblings seemed to see what is going on through the earthly birth, and those elements seemed to create on their own.

Fishes, whales, and many aquatic lives were created solely to live in its vast waters. Jumping out of the waves and skillfully gliding against the heavy current, aquatic life became lively that it seemed that its beauty came from within. In the sky, all aerial living beings flapped and glided against the winds, enjoying the breeze of the air. All of these creatures have wings, and even though a few do not have wings, their superb and long leaps make up for their lack of flight. On the land, creatures with fur, scales, and skin walked on the land. The creatures' body heat showed that it came from the fire. Creature with fur could last in the cold days, and many of these creatures have adapted its environment and weather. Those who cannot live in cold days sought out refuge in barren land where the light gave a lot of warmth in the empty place. The light gave more heat on the empty places than the lively lands for the lands have enough warmth to keep the creatures satisfied, but the creatures who live in the rocky lands have prefer the extra warmth and the open skies any day.

With that, the world became lively, and the light and dark agreed to keep watch over the lands and protect it from ever returning into nothingness.


	2. Chapter 1: Mana

**I don't own Yu-gi-oh, so just enjoy the story. I just lost count on how many stories I just created.**

Chapter 1: Mana

"… _Ah… the slab of darkness and the slab of light… they are known to be…"_

"… _Mana! Are you all right? That spell is strong, but I didn't expect it to affect you..."_

"… _He has beaten them before. Do not worry, Mana…"_

"… _Mana, come with me. It's …"_

"… _Mana…"_

"Mana! Wake up!" The vision blurred for a second, and series of shuts and openings tried to clear the scenery. It was those voices again. She couldn't get a visual of the dreams, but she could hear the same voice talking to her on different occasions. She couldn't recognize how the voices sounded like. Whether it'd be male or female, she couldn't remember how it sounded. It bugged her, but it would usually be forgotten after she focused on something else. Her name was called again, and this time she knew the voice. It took some time for the eyesight to clear up only to see tan feet laced on white soles, one tapping in one single rhythm under the forest green dress.

"I see that young Mana has awaken. May I continue the lecture on the history of the Elemental Slabs?" Wincing, the person, named "Mana," slowly looked to trail up the robe to reach the upper half of the person's body.

"Ah! Sorry, Auntie! Go ahead." Mana laughed sheepishly and waved a little to her "aunt." Mana was a seventeen-year old teenage girl, but her mind was a child compared to her current age. Under the blond bangs of her long, disheveled hair, her green childish eyes glowed with innocence and life. She had rosy cheeks on her cheekbones, giving out a childish look from eyes to face. She was currently wearing a loose tan shirt, loose tan shorts, and white soles that are wrapped around her feet, but that was her temporary wear since she was learning inside her home.

The current room she was in was a study room. The room was dark and wooden, but it was fairly large. Bookcases filled next to each other on the wall at Mana's right, and there were a few books taken out of its shelves. There was a single door built in the middle on Mana's left, so nothing was placed near the door. Behind her, two windows were letting in sunlight to brighten the room, and it was helpful for Mana to read the words on the textbook. There will be times that the windows would be open, but since there was a breeze coming from outside, the windows were now closed to protect papers from flying away. In front of her, there was a large chalkboard written in words, and in the middle was a large table that had notes in front of her, a few number of books piling on the left side, a quill pen, an unlighted candle on the right, and a wooden chair Mana is sitting to face the board.

This person was her teacher, current caretaker, and aunt, Lilith, a Dark Elf. The robe ended up to the smooth, golden breastplate that the headwear was, too, armor-like and had the similar design. Her plum hair brightened her golden eyes and her tan skin from her dark image. Lilith was strict, unkind, and impatient, and she used to stress over Mana's ability on learning. It was a rocky start between Mana and Lilith, and the reason Mana was able to stay in her home was because of Lilith's sister. Over the months that turned into years, Lilith learned patience and tolerance on Mana's cheerful personality and showed kindness from time to time. She was still strict on Mana's studies, but Lilith and Mana had built the bridge on their relationship. The woman sighed and turned around to the chalkboard that had written words.

"As I was saying, the Elemental Slabs represent the creation of the world we live in. They were once were one with the world, and now they are connected with large stone tablets deep in the areas. Now, Mana. Tell me what are the elements we have been discussing a while ago." Mana smiled a bit and answered.

"There are four elements that created the world. They are known as wind, fire, earth, and water." Lilith nodded and wrote the words on the board.

"Very good, Mana. Now, tell me. Where are they located?" Mana frowned and tried to look back on the notes she had on her papers. Unfortunately, she couldn't find them and tried to make up an answer.

"Uh… they are… they are somewhere deep in the elements where they are first created." Her aunt paused for a moment and nodded slowly.

"Yes. That is close to the answer. Could you name the places where the slabs are?" Mana bit her lower lip and fidgeted uncomfortably on her seat, trying to decide on whether or not to tell her aunt the truth. Therefore, she decided on an option.

"Ah… Um… Auntie? Could you repeat where they are again? I lost the notes of their location." She was lying and hoped to, this time, write down notes that she mostly slacked off during the lessons. At her first year living here, her aunt couldn't tolerate on Mana's unenthusiastic manner on studying and was mad at her for not taking notes. Today, Lilith could tolerate her and would repeat the lessons from time to time if Mana asks to repeat them. Lilith sighed and nodded.

"All right. Be sure to write this down, Mana." The Dark Elf wrote words next to the previous words that said, from top to bottom: Wind, Fire, Earth, and Water.

"The location of each slab is unknown, but many of these historical books hypothesized that the slabs should be hiding somewhere in their own element. They could be found in caves, on floors, or somewhere else to hide away from the eyes of civilization. In order to protect the balance of the world and the living things roaming in the world, these slabs are hidden somewhere close to their elemental birth." Mana nodded and wrote what Lilith had said. It was true. Anyone would found the elemental slabs could easily manipulate the elements, and the world she was living in was cruel. Many monsters were struggling to survive, and there were others who would want more power. If any of those slabs were found, it would be problematic for everyone in this world.

"Now, tell me, Mana. What are the purposes for each element?" Lilith asked while continuing to write the words. Mana thought about it and answered with a bit of hesitation.

"Wind is the source of our air. It helps us to breath in, and without it, we would suffocate. Fire is the source of our warmth and light. It provides us with heat through the cold nights and guides us through the darkness. Without it, we would be lost and lose ourselves to the cold. Earth is the source of our food and the ground we walk on. It gives us a place to live in, crops to sustain our hunger, and a world to walk on. Without them, we would fall and starve. Water is the source of our thirst and the beauty we watch. It glows both under the light of day and night and quenches our thirst. Without it, we would dehydrate and never learn what beauty is." Lilith turned around to face Mana and smirked.

"Poetic, aren't we?" Mana blushed and shook her head.

"N-No! I was just-"

"It's fine." Her aunt interrupted. "It's what you think, and you described it on your own knowledge. Don't be ashamed on what your opinion is." Mana sighed in relief and nodded.

"Okay." A knock on the window took their attention away, and the women saw someone at the window.

"Nya! Mistress Lilith! Open the window!" The Dark Elf gave that person a glare, and the person mewed pitifully... literally. Lilith sighed, and with a wave of her hand, she unlocked the window. Just by a mere second, the window burst open, and Mana's vision was now… up at the ceiling. It was probably that her chair tilted over, and Mana was still sitting on the chair with someone on her chest.

"Nya! Man-nya! Neko's hungry! Please, give Neko a fish!" The person purred, and Mana sighed, patting the back of the said person.

"Neko. You just chased down birds outside. Aren't they enough for you?" On her chest, Neko was smiling without a care.

She was a Nekogal in the forest and one of the rare Nekogal because of the unique fur color. She is part human, and she was also an animal. Neko reminded her of a cat… well… a big, energetic kitten who had a mind younger than Mana's. She had light blue fur on her hands, shoulders, feet, and legs, and she also had claws. Her skin was tan, and the brightness of her fur darkened her skin. Her hair was very short, and her blue cat ears were flattened under the violet helmet. Her blue, cat-like eyes, red whisker-like markings on her face, and her fangs brought out the cat-like features in her, but she had strange distinguishes that contrasted herself from the feline personality. She had big wings like a fly, and her tail was furless and light violet. On the end of her tail, there was a blade, and a violet handkerchief was wrapped around the end to prevent the blade from cutting other things. Her violet helmet had antennas like an insect, and her violet tank top and shorts had holes to let her wings and her tail out. Another difference was that Neko was fiercely loyal to Mana and Lilith, and she, a cat-like person, was acting like man's best friend.

"But… Neko wants fish…" Mana giggled and, this time, patting Neko's head.

"Okay. I'll get you a fish by the river." Neko mewed and was now off of Mana, jumping over the table and almost letting the door fly off its hinges. Paper was flying everywhere, and some books on the bookshelves fell down. The teenager stared at the door incredulously, and she knew that Lilith was ready to fry their human house cat. She stood up and pulled the chair up just to look at her aunt who gave her a glance and closed her eyes.

"Oh, fine. Give Nekogal a fish, so this doesn't happen again." She shooed, and Mana was hesitant to help her aunt clean the mess. Lilith slightly stared at her before frowning at Mana.

"What are you waiting for? Do you want to clean up the mess, or do you want to get Neko a fish?" Mana didn't hesitate this time. She jumped over the table and dashed straight to the door, not realizing that she just dropped more books from the table and the chair she just put back. She didn't need to know how frustrated her aunt was right now; Mana decided to get the heck out of the house with a fishing rod and bait. However, she decided to visit someone else nearby.

She burst through the door and jogged lightly to a certain place. Outside the home, a grave was lying next to the place. It was a small stone tablet with white flowers with stems shaping like swords on the side. On the stone tablet, there was an image on the stone, showing an image of Lilith. However, below the picture, the name was different. The name is known to be "Eve," and below that name, it said "Beloved Mother," "Beloved Sister," and "Beloved Friend." She halted in front of the grave, where her mother's ashes were buried.

"Hey, mom. How are you?" Mana knelt down and touched the image of Lilith's look-alike.

"Auntie's teaching is still brutal, and Neko wants her fish now. It's always like this for three years now, and I don't think this will ever change." Eve was known to be a Mystical Elf and was like a mother to Mana. She was a twin, a younger sister, to Lilith; and she was the kindest woman Mana ever saw. She also was patient and calm, and Eve would have this motherly smile that would brighten Mana's day. She also was the one who took care of Mana after her accident that caused her amnesia. Neko founded her lying somewhere in the forest, bleeding on the head and through her clothes. After Neko brought her to this house, Lilith was the one who revived her, and Eve took care of her wounds on the forehead and on the stomach. All was left was a scar hidden under her blond tresses and a large scar across the stomach.

"You know, mom. I still miss you, even after your death. But… auntie said that I would have to move on to live my life. Neko said that she would be there for me all the time, and she kept her word, even at night." Mana was very close to Eve and was attached to her like a child to a mother. Lilith was more of a teacher and acted father-like, and Neko was more of a cheerful, little sister to her. After Eve died a year ago, Mana was devastated. She couldn't stop crying for a week until Lilith did something unexpectedly. Lilith hugged her and told her to cry for today but move on. It was like being hugged by a stranger, but this stranger was giving her a chance to live on with her life. Mana smiled as she touched the flower's petals gently.

"Auntie did keep her promise. She really put your favorite Gladiolus flowers in a small vase. I should really thank her." She lifted her finger and touched the edge of the stone. Eve always loved the Gladiolus flowers. It meant "strength of character," and she said that it reminded her of Mana, who survived miraculously in the forest. The Mystical Elf believed that Mana had the strength to do anything she wanted if she believed in herself. Lilith, before she was nice, always scoffed at her sister's belief and said that if Mana worked hard enough, she would get what she wants.

She sighed and stared at the image one last time. She could remember how she looked like. She had dark blond hair, wears a light green robe, and has her armor white instead of gold. Her skin was blue, a strange pigment, but her blue eyes were amazing like the shining ocean.

"Puh! Puh!" Hearing the squeaks from behind, Mana smiled and turned around to find a flying creature with wings that remind her of a dove.

"Kuriboh! When did you come in?" "Kuriboh" was another strange creature like Neko, but it was cute and had big yellow eyes behind that big ball of brown fur. It had green paws, but it preferred flying. It was small and able to fly through tight places, but when Mana or Nekogal is around, it would land on their heads and hitch a ride. Kuriboh was actually a Winged Kuriboh, one of the forest guardians roaming around the place. It was also one who helped Neko find Mana bleeding, and it also lead Mana out of the forest when she got lost in the forest for the first time. Mana and Kuriboh became friends, and Mana would always visit Kuriboh while traveling with Neko to get fish. It would sense were danger is and would always lead them away from danger.

"Man-nya! Let's go! Neko's hungry!" Mana sighed and looked at the grave.

"I have to go, mom. Neko is going to whine again if she doesn't get her fish. Bye." Mana stood up and walked away from the grave.

"Come on, Kuriboh! Let's go!" The winged monster squeaked and followed Mana to the forest.

0000

"Man-nya! Where are Man-nya and Neko going?" Mana giggled and balanced herself on a log without falling, leading Neko on the same log Mana was walking on and following Kuriboh across the forest.

They were traveling in the Havernn Forest, and it was not occupied by any other creature, except for birds, small land animals, and fishes from a creek not far from the house. The forest looked peaceful and enchanted, but it was very protective of its creatures. Any other creature, beside Mana, Neko, and Kuriboh, was quickly dealt with through Lilith's dark protection, Neko's claws, and other Winged Kuribohs, and everyone would be kept safe in the forest. The house behind Mana was a slightly large cabin on a hilltop. It was simple and seemed peaceful, close to relaxing and livable. It was two stories high, had a high porch, and a room on the roof. It was simple enough: two bedrooms, a connected room of a kitchen and dining room, a study room, and a bathroom. In appearance, it looked like a cabin, but only Lilith, and probably Neko, knew the house inside and out. Mana wasn't told that there was a basement, but she knew something was happening under her feet.

"Silly. I'm going to get you a fish, so we are going to the creek nearby." Mana heard Neko stopped behind her, and she turned her head around to see Neko having her finger tapping on her chin at the corner of her eye.

"Neko? What are you thinking about?" There was a saying that curiosity kills the cat, and Neko has always avoided death many times. Mana was always told that she shouldn't worry about Neko since she always got away from trouble. However, Mana couldn't help it but be worried about her safety all the time, even if Kuriboh was leading her away from danger with Neko going straight to it. Now, she was worried about her own safety, and Kuriboh sensed her discomfort. Neko had her tail up and grinned, showing her sharp teeth, and Mana knew that this is a sign of trouble.

"Man-nya! How about the village outside of the forest? Neko and Man-nya haven't been there because Mistress Lilith said not to." Mana lost balance and fell off from the log, landing on the dirt. It was a good thing it was dry with the sun shining on that place; the forest could be wet for all she could know.

"Wh-what? Neko! Didn't you hear what auntie said? Because I was taught magic under her, any spell caster and fairy could sense me from ten miles away, and I could get in trouble. Besides, I didn't bring the bracelet with me." Mana retorted, as she quickly stood up and brushed the dirt off her shorts.

There were times when Mana was always reminded to never enter the village near the forest. She always asked why she couldn't use magic anywhere, but the answer was always the same: she may never know if there is a spell caster or a fairy nearby. Lilith always warned her that if someone could sense the magic in her, then Mana would be taken somewhere far away where no one could find her. It scared her, and she always has something with her before venturing out of the forest. Even though the answer wasn't straight, Mana was already intimidated on the warning. Neko grinned and held out a golden, simple jewel glowing under the sunlight.

"Man-nya means this?" It looked simple, but under the bracelet, it had writing that seemed unfamiliar to any other creature. However, Mana could recognize the elven writing. This writing was actually a masking spell that could prevent magic from ever leaking out of the person. However, this bracelet could only hide her magic for a limited of time. It could only last for thirty minutes, and Mana could only take it off somewhere unpopulated.

"H-How? How did you get this?" Mana asked as she took the bracelet from Neko's paws. Neko grinned and bent down to face Mana since she is three inches taller than the 5'4" Mana.

"Let's just say Neko wants to go somewhere new with Man-nya and only with Man-nya. Man-nya always wanted to see the village, and Neko wants to go with Man-nya to see the village." Mana smiled and patted Neko on the head. Neko was very sweet, but there were times when Mana wished that she would grow up… just a little bit.

"Thanks, Neko. But… auntie would get upset about us leaving the forest." Mana saw her ears lower down, meaning that she was either sad or upset. Neko frowned and instantly grabbed Mana. She didn't like Mana's answer and made a dash further into the forest. Kuriboh followed quickly and squeaked in protest for Neko to slow down.

"N-Neko! Wh-what are you doing?" Neko grinned and looked at the Winged Kuriboh.

"Kuriboh! Neko is taking Man-nya to the village! Stay at the forest for a while! Neko will return Man-nya!" Kuriboh seemed to get the message and stopped flying after them. Mana paled while continued to run up to Neko's pace. Oh no. Neko did not… she wouldn't…

Neko grinned at Mana and told her.

"Man-nya needs to put Mistress's bracelet now. Neko couldn't get Man-nya in trouble with the village." Mana tried other excuses.

"But we would get lost in there!"

"Don't worry! Neko has a keen sense of smell and acute hearing to find Man-nya."

"We didn't bring money with us!"

"Neko brought it! Neko has it on Neko's hip!"

"Your tail would be seen!"

"Neko made sure that Neko's tail would be covered tightly."

"Well, my bracelet could only hide my magic for so long! I could get caught!"

"Does Man-nya not like Neko?"

"NEKOOOOO!" The voice boomed in the forest, making birds fly out of their homes and up in the air. Only the creatures and the residents in the forest knew what happened, and Lilith didn't ignore that voice. She glanced from outside and back to her work.

"It's only a matter of time until those two are going on their own." She tied a small rope into a knot, securing the contents in the bag from ever being spilled out.

"Only a matter of time…" The Dark Elf whispered and began preparing the next bag.


	3. Chapter 2: The Dark Magician, Mahado

Chapter 2: The Dark Magician, Mahado

The village was known to be the Village of Harvenn, named by the location close to the Harvenn Forest. The houses and shops were built simply in wood, and the road was more mixed with dirt and grass. The village was named after a person, named Harvenn, who built a shrine to praise the earth creatures living in the forest for protecting his people from the monsters. The monsters outside the forest once chased down the humans for food, but they withdrew since the creatures defended the humans from the monsters. It was not so strange for the different races; monsters, in different forms, started to roam around the places they live in. They were known as fiends, zombies, and other creatures that were deemed dangerous. The monsters appeared out of nowhere. No one knew how they were able to walk, swim, or fly, but they were sure that with good things come in, the bad karma follows them. Therefore, weapons in different shapes, uses, and forms were created for their protection.

At the edge of the forest, the village was bustling with a variety of creatures. Most of them were human, and a few of them were beasts from other parts of the world. In the village, it was rare and unusual to see beasts from time to time, but it was some kind of daily part of their lives. On the road, there were some residents wandering around the place and some booths at one road. The booths sold food, weaponry, armory, and other necessities for the travels, and it seemed to be a friendly place.

"Man-nya, let's look around this place." Mana was happy to see other living beings beside her family outside the forest, but she was scared to enter a village from making a fool out of herself. Mana gaped at sight before her since she hasn't been into a populated place in her life. Living for three years of her amnesic life, the only contact she had with were her mom, her aunt, Neko, and Kuriboh. Anyone else would be rendered as strangers and her hiding in her room. It was a good thing she slipped in the bracelet to mask her magic powers, or she would have been noticed before landing near the entrance.

"Neko… I don't think its such a good idea to come here." Neko mewed in protest and shook her head.

"Neko smells a big fish here. Neko needs Man-nya to help her bring big fish back home. Also, Neko sensed that Man-nya wants to go in the village for a long time." Mana blushed and shook her head, waving her arms in protest.

"I-I didn't say that!" Neko frowned and bent down to Mana's height, seeing each other eye to eye.

"Neko didn't say that Man-nya said that. Neko saw Man-nya staring outside all the time before going to sleep. Neko truly saw Man-nya. Man-nya can't deny that she wants to see other people. Does Man-nya remember anything about Man-nya's life?" Mana was silent as she listened to her cat friend.

Neko knew too much about Mana. The young girl did want to remember things of who she was before her accident, but she didn't voice her thoughts out because she didn't want to make her new family sad. Neko seemed to catch onto her night actions and thoughts before she went to sleep. It was a common tradition for Mana; she would always stare at the village outside that had sounds of people conversing at day and see the illumination of the lights at night. Also, during their fishing trips, Mana would go into wonder and not notice pole tugging until Neko would call out her name. Mana sighed and played around with the bracelet on her wrist.

"All right. We'll go inside." Neko grinned and grabbed Mana's hand, dragging the obedient girl into the town. Mana scanned the village in wonder. She heard that villagers around here would be the only residents, and there would be times that the village would have flea markets around one road. Now, there were a lot of creatures and humans, and they were bustling everywhere. Shops were around the place, and children were playing on the roads with toys on their hands. Mana and Neko were in awe, and Mana walked up to a random person who was wearing some kind of armor like a warrior. However, this person had a wand or staff of some sort, and this person was a young girl just like her… only a few years younger.

"Excuse me? What's going on?" The person looked at Mana and frowned.

"You mean you haven't heard about the celebration?" Mana shook her head and scratched her head, feeling embarrassed about lying and being in the village for the first time.

"Ah, I overslept, and my friend behind me woke me up to see the commotion here. I know that it's not the day of flea markets, so what's going on?" The person shook her head and placed her free hand on her hip.

"It was announced seven days ago, and you haven't heard about the celebration. Okay. I'll brief you what is going on. The celebration is the yearly worship of the protection of this village. There is a priest here who asked permission of the King of Domino to send in a lot of spell casters to provide a bit of magic to uphold the protection of the village." Neko came around and pointed out.

"Nya. Is Miss going, too?" The girl blinked and stared at the humanoid cat.

"You look like a beast, but… you look too human." Neko kept on smiling and tilted her head to the side. The young girl shook her head and held the rod for Mana and Neko to see.

"Well… I came here to watch the worship with other students under our masters' orders. All of us are training to become Dark Magicians. I'm just an apprentice, so we don't partake the ritual. Some of our masters are, and the other masters just watch over the ritual to make sure that nothing goes wrong." The rod was simple enough to look like an amateur's staff. It was white and had a red orb on the top. It was in arm's length, so it was easy to handle.

"Young lady! Where are you?" Mana stared at the rod for a while, and the young apprentice pulled back the rod.

"I have to get going. My mistress is calling me." The student left, and Neko was waving cheerfully.

"Bye! Good luck!" The student stopped a bit and turned around, being surprised at the openness of the hybrid. She just turned around back and ran to the source of the voice. Neko slowed down her wave and was about to speak to her friend until she saw Mana's face. Mana was staring again, and this time, it was at the student they met up minutes ago. Neko tilted her head and wondered what was going on with her.

"Man-nya? Something wrong?" Mana woke from her trance and shook her head. Mana had something in her head, and the rod seemed familiar to her. The young girl saw that rod somewhere before, but… where?

"Man-nya?" Neko tried to face her, but Mana just walked into the shops.

0000

"…_meho ishta gi ha…_"

"…_reyuk ik keris…_"

"…_mo youkish wre…_"

The chanting was heard inside a dark room. Candles on the pillars were lit around the room, and in the middle, there were some priests and a few spell casters around the circle of an enclosed shrine. The shrine was wooden, and the legs were holding up a small house-like box. There were markings on the floor around the shrine, and around the markings, there were more markings larger than those encircling around the shrine. Around the markings, a single line was formed to make a barrier to protect people from disrupting the ritual. However, the markings were fading away, and the priests and the spell casters were trying to prevent it from fading.

"Master Mahado. It's an honor to have you attend the ritual." A priest walked up to the armor-clad person. People would mistake him as a warrior, but person was a spell caster like any other spell casters. However, this spell caster was more powerful than the priest or any of the other spell casters chanting on a spell. His arms crossed over his chest, and he leaned against the wall. The spell caster was wearing dark violet armor with light violet linings on his armor. His armor looked sharp and dark on his upper body, making him very powerful. His helmet had the same design as his armor and covered his face in the dark. No one could see what he looked like, but he was easily recognized by his tall height. Beside him, a turquoise staff was tall that reached to his shoulder. It had a greenish orb resting in the middle of the layered design of the staff. "Mahado" continued to watch the ritual without answering the priest who was now trying to make a conversation with him.

"I have heard about you and your successes. You have gained much respect across Domino Kingdom, and you exceeded everyone's expectation. King Yugi and the sage are right on selecting you as the next successor of the Dark Magician Academy." The spell caster just grunted. The person didn't say anything and just continued to observe the tradition flowing through. Therefore, the priest continued.

"I am surprised to see you along with the other masters and students here." He seemed focus and was half paying attention to the priest before he heard the last words from his mouth.

"So… which student do you think would be your successor after the Dark Sage's retirement?"

"None of them." The priest was startled of his answer and turned to face the man.

"Wha-?" He couldn't ask his question. The spell caster just turned away and left the ritual with his staff on his hand.

"M-Master Mahado! Where are you going?" He whispered harshly as he tried to keep up the pace with the powerful man. The man was definitely tall, and his long legs seemed to quicken his pace up to the exit. Mahado turned around and looked like he was glaring at the man. The man stopped and shivered in complete fear. The priest didn't man to make him mad, and he didn't mean to make him leave or anything. It was just a question, but the look on Mahado's face told another story.

"I am going out. The ritual here doesn't need my protection or my supervision, so everything is following according to plan. I will be back after the preparations are done here." He didn't give the priest a chance to question him further; he just turned around and left the room. He was walking down the stony stairs that spirals down, and with his long legs, he was walking down the stairs like he wanted to get out of the room. At last, he reached to the double doors of the temple and pushed them apart, letting light illuminate the dark temple.

The temple was a towering building and made out of bricks, and the wood supported the bricks to hold it up. The ritual was at the top floor and he was at the entrance of the temple. The tower had more stairs going down, and it seemed deserted, except the population was closer to the village's entrance and a few students roaming close to the temple. Mahado made a decision to leave the temple, possibly away from the nosy priest in there. It was true that the ritual doesn't need his supervision or his protection, but his presence must be there to make a good impression on the temple. However, it wasn't true; there were other students making the academy's name well known in the celebration at the village. He wasn't wanted there at least until one of the priests called him back. The temple wasn't open for the public yet because of the preparations.

When he was out, Mahado could feel the stress coming up to his head and made him queasy inside the temple. He wondered about how people like these, including the temple priests, could ask that question inside a sacred place. He just wanted to watch the ritual in peace, and someone had to ruin his peace. That last question made him very ill that the powerful spell caster had to leave the temple with or without the priest's consent. It made a bad impression on him, but the master didn't care. He wanted to get out of the place to clear his head. Mahado shook his head and just continued walking down the brick stairs.

"Good afternoon, Master Mahado."

"Master Mahado. Good afternoon."

"Hello. Master Mahado." Students saw the powerful teacher and greeted him as he came down. Mahado nodded to them as a greeting back and continued walking down the stairs. He noticed the fear in the students and masters as he continued to walk down. He wanted to tell them that he was fine, but he knew better. It was ironic. Dark Magicians were known to be alone and be coldhearted, and Mahado, the most powerful Dark Magician in Domino Kingdom, had a heart and wanted to socialize. His reputation to be powerful and to be feared already spread throughout the kingdom. He decided to leave as quickly as possible and go somewhere away from the temple for a while.

The students here were respectful and welcoming, but they were just fearful of him. He didn't want to be remembered like that; it wasn't how he was before. His childhood friend and his master knew that he wasn't himself before and was always caring, but Mahado knew too well that all this happened because it was his fault. It didn't matter anymore; he would always be remembered as who he was right now.

What he didn't notice that he took the road where it was leading straight to the celebration, and someone crashed into him.

0000

Mana was downright frustrated when it comes to searching a needle in a haystack, and that term was not literate to some degree. Neko disappeared in the crowds after their lunch at a nearby miniature restaurant just to look at the other side of the village. Mana was going to tell her that the bracelet was not going to hide her magic much longer, and they had to leave. However, Neko heard something interesting on the other side and just skedaddled to see what was going on. Now, Mana was running around the village, searching high and low everywhere to find her feline friend. As she was going around halfway to the crowd, Mana belched lightly behind her fist and groaned after eating a lot of grilled fish, which Neko enjoyed tremendously. She was not only going to feel the anger from her aunt living in the forest, but she was sure that eating this much fish is going to give her stomachaches for the rest of the day. The young girl had to refocus on the situation she and her friend were in; Mana had to get Neko back into the forest before the bracelet would run out of power. Since Neko was a very agile humanoid cat, Mana decided to blindly run for it. It wasn't until she crashed into someone at the other end of the crowd.

"Ouch!" She felt something hard and metallic in front of her, and then, Mana felt something hard bouncing off her head. Her face was sore, and Mana had both of her hands covering her face in both pain and embarrassment. She moaned in pain and rubbed her face to get rid of the pain.

"Ouch…"

"Excuse me? Are you all right?" Never in her… amnesic life did she ever embarrass herself in public, and this village would probably remember her as the clumsy and careless girl who bumps into strangers when she isn't looking. Her face burned in embarrassment, as she stopped rubbing. Cracking on edge of her fingers, she just saw the chest of very tall man. Since he was wearing armor for the upper body, Mana thought he was a warrior until she saw the staff on his grip.

Mana did read about the differences between a man and a woman at the first year inside her mother and aunt's house. Her mom and her aunt only taught her the behavior, personality, and sometimes the physical traits of both genders; Mana had to read the other traits from books and pictures that she would usually asks questions to her mother and aunt. A lot of them were unanswered and sometimes were answered not as straight. Neko and Kuriboh were out of the question because Neko was too young to understand the male and female comprehension, and Kuriboh… well… Kuriboh was Kuriboh. Kuriboh was a cute, flying, furry creature that protects the forest. Most of her life, she had only contact with female creatures, and she wondered if all the creatures she was going to meet were going to be female. Sure she did encounter male monsters in the forest, and Neko would probably attack them. However, this male was human like her, and he was probably the first male who she ever had contacted with outside of the forest. She blushed horribly and bowed to him, sputtering apologies and having her hands on her knees to hold herself up.

"I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry. I shouldn't have run like that, and I should have watched where I was going." She heard him sigh and heard clothing movement and ground scraping. He was probably picking up something from the ground, and she did remember that something bounced off on her own head.

"It's fine. I, myself, was not paying attention to my surroundings, so it was my fault. I should apologize for my carelessness to you." She stood up from her bow, but she was unable to face him. She was still embarrassed and somewhat shy to look up to the person. It wasn't until she felt her chin lifted up to see him eye to eye.

"It's not nice to look down while someone is trying to apologize." He stated, and Mana swore that she could hear the teasing behind his words. She just had to blush even more. Mana had to admit; he was good looking and handsome. This man was tan-skinned, but his eyes were blue like the sky above them. His unique violet hair was smooth and long, probably he had it brushed down to make him presentable.

She didn't know how long she stared at him, but Mana realized what was happening. The man seemed to notice her realization and released his grip on her, clearing his throat from the awkward situation both of them were in. Mana took a small step back and touched her chin where he touched. The strength he had while holding her chin was strong to bring her eyes to meet his, but he seemed careful and gentle on holding… probably touching… her for the first time.

She remembered the student from before, and this man was wearing similar clothing. He must be a teacher, a Dark Magician, since he was holding a powerful looking rod. She did remember a lesson from her aunt talking about the academies all over the world, and somehow, the lessons of the Dark Magician Academy interested her to a degree. That was a long time ago; she was now studying under Aunt Lilith in various forms of spells.

She noticed the helmet was held under his other arm, which also had a grip on his staff, and Mana wondered why would a spell caster like him dress like that in a sunny day. The student before wore lighter colors and a lighter armor; this man was wearing dark violet colors. The man cleared his throat and spoke.

"I apologize for my actions. I shouldn't have done that to you. Please, forgive my actions." Mana blinked. This man seemed familiar to her, but she didn't know where or when. The young girl gave credit that he was tall, wears dark clothes and armor, well mannered, and handsome, but she knew him somewhere. She did not recall any memories from her three year amnesic past that related to this man, and she could not recall anything from her other part of her life. However, Mana had to know this man somewhere, but everything in her head was pretty much wracked up and out of place. Those thoughts came around for a few seconds until she heard him apologize in embarrassment. She didn't want to embarrass the man, so the young girl tried to tell him that it was fine.

"Ah! It's-"

"Neko is back with food!" She sighed, and her found companion came beside them. Both humans turned their attention to the incoming, happy Neko walking toward them with shish kabobs in between her furry fingers. Neko was about to speak more to Mana until she saw the spell caster in front of Mana. The humanoid cat's smile turned into a frown, and her tail was swishing side to side. Seeing this, the young girl was alert to her behavior.

Mana read the behaviors of feline monsters and other animalistic monsters between her second and third year, and Neko was no exception to the latter. Since her ears are flattened under that silly hat of hers, Mana would always watch her tail. When Neko is happy, her tail will be always straight up and would sometimes quiver in excitement. When her tail is down and above the ground, she would be relaxed. Right now, Neko's tail was swishing, and this meant that she was not happy.

"Neko want to go somewhere else now! Neko is bored of this place." This time, her tail stopped swishing, but the blade of the tail was hooked. Mana was a bit surprised about this new behavior; what kind of behavior Neko had this time? She tried to think back on the reading she had, but nothing came up to her knowledge. Mana would have to reread the book one more time to catch what Neko felt; however, Mana's ears heard something else and raised an eyebrow at her feline friend.

"Neko. You were enjoying the places here and practically used up all of the money. We could stay here you know." Now, Neko's tail was halfway down, and Mana looked at her sad eyes looking down. Mana felt a guilt trip coming her way.

"But… Neko is tired. Neko wants to go home." The man intervened, feeling that he should do something about the situation here.

"I assure you, miss. There are a lot of activities coming around for the time being. You both have a lot of time enjoying the festivities." Mana inwardly groaned as she saw Neko's glare at the man; he wasn't helping and was making matters worse. Neko's tail turned back into its swishing, and Mana gulped. She was back being agitated, and Mana had to stop Neko from attacking this man from causing a scene. Remembering the conversation with Neko, Mana ran toward the surprised feline and grabbed her arm, pulling Neko away from the man and into the crowd.

"Ah! Neko! We got to go! Auntie is going to blow another of her rants if we are there late!" Neko almost lost grip on the shish kabobs and tried to keep up with Mana's pace. During the dragging, Mana turned around and waved her free hand toward the man.

"I have to get going, sir! Thank you for keeping me company though!" She didn't have to hear the man's reply; Mana had to drag Neko straight to the forest before the deadline. Now, the problem is that she has to drag Neko straight into the crowd in a few minutes.

0000

Mahado continued to stare where the girl quickly dragged her strange friend into the crowd. That young girl seemed familiar to him, but the master couldn't pinpoint where. He had intelligence, had the accurate observations, and knew a lot of faces just by one look; this person was an unsolved puzzle in his mind. He had seen her somewhere, and her eyes seemed to acknowledge him back. Mahado shook his head and focused on her physical appearance to see any resemblance to anyone he knew.

First off in his mind were her clothes. Today was the celebration, and everyone should have dressed formally to the celebration. However, she was wearing her tan clothing simple and casual like she just came from her home. The clothing wasn't important to him; it was her appearance that surprised him. If she had white wings, she would have looked like an angel in front of him, pure and innocent of the world's cruelty. Her blond hair shined under the sun's rays even if her hair was down to her shoulders. Her eyes had that serene yet lively color that reminded him of an emerald jewel, and no other gem could go against the shine of her eyes. He admitted that she had a childish face to compare with other children, but the blush under her eyes brought out a carefree nature in her. She reminded him of her through so many ways that each action weighed heavy in his consciousness.

Mahado clenched his fists and gritted his teeth; it wasn't her fault. He, his fellow comrades, his friends, and his peers were under the witch's spell to be against her. His master broke the spell by chanting the words to break any kind of spell with his power, and the spell was broken in a few seconds. After they all came to their senses, the witch was caught and executed no less than a day. They all had their peace, but they knew that she went missing after all that cruelty they put her through. It took them a whole one full week to send out search parties all over the continent, but no one found a shard of her. He was to blame himself for not realizing what he had done, and now she was gone from his life. Now, it has been three years after her disappearance, and Mahado could not teach the same method to his other students like what he taught her. He would teach his students the basics and history, but the master would not go in deeper detail. The students could handle the studies, but they were not like her. They were good students, but none could compare themselves to her.

"Master Mahado!" His name was called out, and Mahado glanced at the incoming priest who seemed panicked.

"What is it? Did the ritual was not supposed to be like you expected?" The priest shook his head and tried to make an explanation.

"Well… the ritual is complete… but something came up. Oh no. No one messed up the ritual, and the village is now safe again. However, something is happening that we did not expect." He was blabbering a long explanation, and Mahado was feeling irritation coming up.

"The ritual is complete, and the village is protected. I understand that. It has been for this long, so now what is the problem?" The priest could feel Mahado's glare and blurted out the problem.

"Something is attacking the Harvenn Forest, sir." Mahado gave him an incredulous look.

"The Harvenn Forest is protected by the forest guardians. No creature is ever allowed to enter the forest unless they have the approval of both the light and dark creatures living in there. Only residents of that forest are allowed to enter, and not even I could enter that holy place," explained Mahado. The priest gulped and nodded, but he later quickly shook his head.

"No… I mean… I understand that situation of the Harvenn forest, but after the ritual, a creature from the forest came to the temples in fright." This seemed to catch his interest, and Mahado gave full attention to the priest.

"Elaborate." The priest seemed surprised but nodded obediently.

"One of the guardians of the forest, called a Winged Kuriboh, flew to us in panic. One of our priests translated what it said, and it seemed that a creature, stronger than the guardians, invaded the forest and was destroying the trees. The guardians need help, and many of your colleagues went there." The priest made a grim face and announced.

"Only half came back alive and critically injured to tell of a giant insect attacking them." Mahado frowned. There were two types of giant insects, and one of these types must be very powerful to attack a lot humans. They are highly problematic, and only Mahado knows how to defeat these creatures.

"I will go then." The priest smiled and was about to say something until another priest was running to them.

"Master Mahado! I bring you terrible news!" The other priest was coming to him, and Mahado was feeling a headache.

"If it is about the problem of the insect in the forest, I was already informed about it and am on my way." However, this priest shook his head.

"No! It's not that!" The priest continued.

"Some magicians have said that they have seen two people entering the forest without knowing the danger in there. They tried to stop them, but it seems that they didn't hear them." Mahado's eyes widened. It was definitely terrible news; these two people do not know what kind of terrible danger they are in. Mahado has to save these two people fast; he knew what kind of insect is lurking in that forest. Before the Dark Magician could order both of the priests, the latest priest, who announced the two women's demise, blurted out.

"I also sensed one of them possessing magic that I'm not familiar with." Mahado's eyes widened.

_It can't be…_

"Show me where they went."


	4. Chapter 3: Found at Last

Chapter 3: Found at Last

Mana was confused while watching Kuriboh's behavior. When Mana reached to the forest with Neko behind her, Kuriboh began hugging them very enthusiastically. They were very baffled on the little creature and wondered what was going on. They were away thirty minutes ago, and Kuriboh seemed relieved to see them. It was a good thing that Mana's magic was released inside the forest, so they were safe for the time being. Later, her little companion was now having tears on its eyes and now flying around them like crazy, and none of the girls understood what it was trying to say. Neko and Mana were concerned about Kuriboh's behavior, and that is why Kuriboh was currently struggling on Mana's grip.

"Puh! Puh!"

"Kuriboh! Calm down! What's wrong?" A wing smacked under Mana's chin, and Mana unconsciously released their friend to rubbed the pain under her chin.

"Man-nya! Is Man-nya okay?" Neko ran close to Mana to see anything abnormal on her face. The young girl nodded and glanced at the Winged Kuriboh flying around in circles so quickly.

"Strange. Kuriboh has never acted like this." Mana stated as she observed the small creature.

"Maybe Kuriboh is nervous. Kuriboh is a fairy creature like Key Mace. Neko and Man-nya did go to the village, so Kuriboh might be nervous about others following us." Neko suggested, as they continued to watch the little critter grab Mana's arm with its paws, tugging her to follow it.

Kuriboh had that panicking expression and seemed to tell them that something was wrong. She never saw Kuriboh scared; it was always show bravery and confidence when Kuriboh led Mana away from danger. She knew that the forest was protected, and Lilith, Kuriboh, and other creatures were the guardians of the forest. If there were something wrong, Lilith would actually summon her powers to inspect the whole area before casting a spell to attack the intruder. However, her aunt would only cast spells at night, and her mom would cast the protection spell at the day. It was now Kuriboh and its friends to protect the forest, and seeing Kuriboh scared was making Mana scared. Mana and Neko seemed to know what was going on by Kuriboh's behavior, but this time they were very concerned.

"Neko will check out what is going on, and Man-nya will follow Kuriboh." Mana felt uncertain about Neko's safety. It was a bit constant when it comes to Neko going alone, and Mana would be a little concern about Neko. However, this may be the time to tell Neko to be really careful and watch out.

"Neko. I know that I always say to be careful whenever you face something, and you would always say that you are always careful." Mana inhaled deeply and breathed out.

"But… today, you shouldn't take this lightly." Neko tilted her head and asked.

"Huh? Neko doesn't get it." Mana fidgeted and glanced at Kuriboh.

"Kuriboh is sensing something might be more powerful, and I don't think that they are able to fight this thing off. If you are going to face them, you should be very careful this time. If you are getting overwhelmed, you got to escape quickly straight back to the house." Mana held her hand over her heart and looked down.

"Neko, I will say this again, but please, take my advice seriously. Be careful. Something powerful is out there." Mana looked up and stared at Neko eye to eye. Neko's cat eyes stared straight back at hers, and Neko closed her eyes, sighing that sounded like disappointment.

"All right. Neko promises Man-nya to be careful; Neko would make sure that Neko would run if the other is too much for Neko." Mana smiled and nodded.

"Okay." Neko smiled back and waved her paw. The feline cat dashed to the other way, leaving Mana and Kuriboh back on the safe trail. Mana sighed and looked at Kuriboh.

"Let's go, Kuriboh. Lead the way."

"Puh! Puh!"

0000

"Master Mahado, the fairies seem to flee. This creature must be stronger than we thought." One of the magicians stated, as they continued to travel deep inside the forest. Mahado nodded and observed their surroundings.

The forest was quiet and sunny, but there was no feeling of purity in the forest. The Harvenn forest was supposed to be known to be the "Forest of Protection and Purity." The guardians were sometimes fairies hiding inside the trees and sometimes an unknown entity around the corner. If there were a threat, the fairies and the unknown power would attack the intruder. The forest was supposed to be filled with a few fairies watching them, but this time it seemed that the creature drove them away in fear of its strength. Because of this, Mahado had a few magician experts with him to provide assistance if the creature gets out of hand.

On their way, their path split into two roads, and both of the roads had two different auras. The left side had the feeling of lightness, and the magicians can feel the purity on that side. Many thought that the guardians must have taken refuge since the intruder invaded the forest, and the other side of the forest didn't feel very pure like before. It was like some of the fairies… disappeared after trying to defend the forest, and the rest of the fairies are struggling to either defend or fleeing with the rest of its kind to recuperate.

"We don't have much time. We have to focus on two objectives: find the two people and defeat whatever is in here. If we find those two, I want two to three of us to lead them out of the forest. If we encounter the insect, destroy it immediately. Do not target the fairies; they are the guardians that asked for our assistance." Mahado ordered and walked to the right, leading his team to the danger. On their way, they saw glowing lights staggering and floating on the air. Those lights illuminated brightly, but there were silhouettes inside the lights. Those were fairies, hiding their forms from sight. A lot of these small lights were resting on the branches of the trees, and it seemed that more lights were coming back from fighting against the fight. From the mass number of lights, it doesn't look good.

"We have to hurry. Let's go." Mahado stated and quickened his pace. The magicians were running where the fairies were fleeing, and they could hear a small amount of commotions. They must be getting close, and the action was getting clearer as they ran closer.

"Nya! Why the stupid insect won't go bye-bye?" Someone yelled in the forest, and there were destructive sounds coming from the direction the magicians were going to. They could hear a lot of fighting, and Mahado seemed to recognize that voice from before. Wasn't that the companion of the girl who he met before?

"_Where is the valkyria? I feel the valkyria somewhere._" There was another voice echoing throughout the forest, but this voice sounded menacing. This voice sounded like it was grumbling, and Mahado knew that any creature cannot talk unless they were stronger than its own kind. This definitely was one of the stronger insects Mahado was expecting, and he hoped that this was one of the two he could fight against. If the other one was there, then Mahado and the other masters need to find the two people quickly.

"Let's go." Mahado whispered, and the magicians were sprinting down the path. The closer they get, the louder the commotions were.

"What is the stupid flying bug talking about? Neko doesn't know any valkyria in this forest!"

"_Give me the valkyria. Give me… the power!_"

"Neko feels danger. Neko now hates bugs! Neko is getting out of here!"

"_Come back here! Tell me where the valkyria is!_"

"Stop following Neko!" The commotions seemed to die down, but they felt a strong wind blowing. Mahado and the magicians were covering their faces from the wind, and for a few seconds, the wind died down slowly to nothing. The powerful magician was the first to recover.

"Is everyone fine?" One of the masters nodded and answered.

"Y-Yes. We are fine." Another magician recovered, and later the rest of the magicians lowered their guards.

"Did anyone else hear whatever happened there?" One asked his colleague beside him. The colleague nodded and recalled the event.

"It said it felt a valkyria around here, and it wanted his power. I haven't heard anything about a valkyria except in textbooks and history." Another colleague nodded and pointed out another fact.

"I heard that the first valkyria was trained under the current headmaster of the academy, where all Dark Magicians began their training. That was five hundred years ago; that was the same time when the first valkyria and our headmaster fought off an evil entity that controlled one of the ancestral majesty's comrades." The rest murmured amongst each other, but Mahado could hear every single conversation.

"Does this mean that there is still another valkyria powerfully equal to the previous valkyria?"

"This valkyria must be important; we have to find her quick."

"Whatever this thing is after, it doesn't look good. Valkyries are known to give power to any creature through their will. If this creature gets him, we may be too late on helping him control his powers." Mahado frowned. This creature needs to be stopped, and Mahado has to finish this creature quick and alone.

"I'm going alone. This creature may be strong, but I know its weakness. Everyone must go back to the village. I'll return with the valkyria from the creature." The magicians knew to not argue back since he was the chosen successor of being the next headmaster. Trusting his judgment, they all nodded and turned around to leave the two people and the source of chaos to Mahado. Seeing his colleagues disappear from his sight, Mahado faced ahead and closed his eyes.

If he remembered correctly, these valkyries would emit an energy that would be called a "ba". This energy comes from the six elemental natures of the world inside creatures and humans of the world. Most of the creatures would come from one of the elements; some would be a mix of four of the elements: air, fire, water, and earth. Creatures, who are light or who are dark, could only emit one of the two. Mahado tried to grasp the energy from far away since only he and a few other powerful magicians have the ability to sense types of different ba. To make things harder, valkyries had disappeared five hundred years ago, so their energy was known to have a different source of ba.

_It's there, but…_

It was strange and shocking to Mahado. He snapped his eyes open and dashed toward that source of ba. He couldn't believe it; this person was emitting both elements of light and dark. It also meant that this valkyria was able to be alive to have two opposing ba in his body.

Mahado studied that if a creature emits both of the elements, the creature would die after right after birth. It was baffling and mysterious to hear that light could not work with darkness and vice versa. Everyone wondered why would the light and darkness could not work together in the beginning, but when centuries passed by, everyone seemed to accept the unexplained hypothesis. There were some cases of creatures emitting light and dark ba before passing away, and those cases seemed to support the hypothesis to become a theory. Light can't work with the darkness, and the dark can't work with the light. Then, why is this valkyria could emit both light and darkness for this long? If his memory served correctly, there were two people who broke the belief. One happened five hundred years ago, and that person was his headmaster's valkyria. The other happened a few years ago, but…

_That would mean- She's still alive! I know it! I have to find her quickly!_ Mahado chanted a few verses before disappearing in a blink of an eye.

0000

"Kuriboh? Where are your friends?" Mana asked, but Kuriboh seemed to be focused on leading the young girl. Mana sighed and eyed around the forest. It was very strange for the forest to be uninhabitable and not to mention unsettling. When Mana would travel in the forest with Kuriboh, she would usually see other tiny fairies no larger than Kuriboh's size. They were all friendly and were Kuriboh's friends in this forest, and Mana could name every fairy she would see on her way. However, there were no fairies around, and the forest was eerily quiet. Mana shuddered as she continued to walk down the path that seemed darker. Kuriboh was close to her to make sure that she was safe, but the little fairy was trembling slightly. It wasn't long until they heard a small rumbling from somewhere.

"Kuriboh. Did you hear that?" Mana asked, as Kuriboh nodded, holding Mana's shoulder to make sure that nothing was going to attack her.

The rumbling sound was distant, and the grass seemed to sway a little. There wasn't supposed to be a breeze or wind today; the sky was very clear without any wisp of smoke. As Mana stood there every second, the rumbling was getting louder, and there were flapping sounds. When the sounds were too close, Kuriboh yanked Mana to the side, and Mana stumbled. Something… or someone Mana knew so well… crashed where Mana was, and Neko was groaning in pain.

"Neko! Are you okay? Neko!" Mana screamed and knelt down to her friend's side. The injuries were not fatal, but her feline friend still needed medical attention. There were scratches on her stomach and face, but they were small. The trouble is the deep cuts on her arms, legs, and tail, and they seem to bleed endlessly but slowly. Neko mewed painfully and struggled to get up on her two feet. However, she was struggling to kneel instead.

"Man-nya… run away." Neko whispered, as she finally got on her hands and knees. She was trying to be strong, but the pain was too much for her.

"Neko is sorry for breaking Man-nya's promise. Please, Man-nya. Run back to Mistress. Big insect is coming." Mana bit her lip and wrapped her arms around Neko's torso. Neko struggled for a bit, but the young girl had Neko to stay still. She finally got the limping arm around Mana's shoulders and was used as a support, but the chances of surviving were now slim. She didn't want to lose Neko by an insect wanting to kill; she didn't want her to die and lose a close friend like her surrogate mother did. When Mana was able to help her friend stand on her two furry feet, two trees fell apart by the large insect crawling its way toward them.

"_You… you damaged my wings. No matter, you lead me to her._" Its voice sounded malicious, and Mana shivered to see this creature.

"You're… you're a Great Moth!" She exclaimed. The creature was flapping and screeching like it was laughing. Mana yelped as the strong wings flapped in rhythm.

Unlike any other insects, the moth was huge and one of the most powerful insects Mana has encounter for the first time. The Great Moth had no eyes, and the body of the insect was still in a caterpillar form. The wings were moist, and the horns were prematurely formed. It seemed to be incomplete to become greater since it seemed to be prematurely hatched. She had read these things from her studies about the types of creatures, and insects were known to be problematic around the world. They can be easily dealt with, but this moth is one of the strongest creatures said from the books. Even though it was hatched from its cocoon early, it was still strong to cause havoc in the forest.

"_Valkyria! I want that power! Give me the power!_" It screeched, and the wings flapped, causing Mana to lose balance and to tumble with Neko. Kuriboh was clutching onto Mana by the shoulder, whimpering by the strength of the wind. Mana still held onto Neko and stared hard at the insect.

Neko was badly wounded, and Kuriboh wasn't strong enough to fight off alone. Mana knew some magic through Lilith's supervision and teaching, but most of the magic she knew were support and healing. Lilith always said that it wasn't the right time for Mana to learn self-defense, and Mana was stuck on learning history of the world, magic for support, and the making of medicine. The only problem is that she didn't have her mother's staff to summon the support she needed to help Neko recover, and she could heal Neko free hand if there was no danger. Therefore, she was facing danger head on and tried to stall the insect.

Wait… didn't the Great Moth call her a valkyria? Weren't the valkyries wiped out five hundred years ago?

"Th-That's impossible! I-I'm not a valkyria! They were gone five hundred years ago, and the last valkyria died after the Valkyria Massacre!" She yelled in confusion.

She read in the history books that valkyries were known to control the elements around them. They were a special kind of group during the reign of Exodia, the famous emperor of the lands. They weren't taught through the spell books; valkyries were born with the power and were taught by other naturally born valkyries. Their powers topped off all other spell casters, and they used their powers to manipulate the elements. If they have allies, the valkyries supported them by transferring their powers for battle or for healing. When any other magic is used against them, the valkyries would absorb the magic to convert it into their own energy. It used to be a large group of valkyries, but the battle, that happened five hundred years ago, almost wiped out the valkyries. When the battle ended, the last valkyria disappeared and supposedly passed away. That year was known to be the Valkyria Massacre, an infamous piece of history that destroyed the existence of the masters of magic.

Now, the big question is what is the moth talking about? Valkyries had the power and intelligence equal or higher to the current headmaster of Domino Kingdom. Her mom and aunt always said that she was a gifted girl who knows magic, and Lilith had taught her how to handle the magic from handling solids to molecules. They supervised her and always said that her magic was equal to an apprentice of a magician, nothing higher. If she could get an explanation out of it, then probably she could stall it enough for her aunt to save her.

"_Give me power!_" The Great Moth screeched and charged straight to them. The rumbling made her lose balance, and Mana fell down with Neko on top of her.

She groaned inwardly. There goes her plan on stalling; this thing is just plain psychotic! Mana could have run to get help, but the friends she was carrying were too important to leave. She wrapped her arms around Neko's head and covered her injured friend. Her thoughts rushed through her head as memories passed through of her three years of her life, and regrets flowed through her.

_Neko… I want to say thank you for saving me. Without you, I wouldn't have lived to meet you or anyone else. Kuriboh… thank you for being my friend. Please, protect everyone else in the forest. _She never got the chance to be very thankful for Neko and Kuriboh for sticking with her.

_Auntie… I'm sorry for being a bad student before and for not thanking you for your efforts. I wish I could say that you become a great parent for me after mom died. _She never got the chance to ever thank Lilith for teaching her magic and put up with her attitude.

She never got the chance to ever be thankful for the fairies protecting the wonderful forest and allowing Mana to live in the forest.

She never got the chance to see the world outside of the forest.

Lastly, she will never get the chance to know what was her life like before her accident.

_Mom… Help me. Please, save us. Save Neko. Save Kuriboh…_

_Mom…_

_Mom…_

_Mama…_

_Mam…_

_Ma…_

_Mas…_

Mana gripped onto Neko, clenched her eyes shut to not see what would happen to them, and yelled out on instinct.

"Master!"

The time she called out was the time she heard an explosion where the Great Moth should have been. Hearing the painful screech, Mana snapped her eyes open and looked up. The large moth was on its side away from them, and the man stood in front of them with a staff on his hand-

"Wait a minute… you're the same man from the village!" Mana gaped. It was the same spell caster from before, and the man just saved their lives from the powerful Great Moth. The process of being found by a spell caster didn't flow through her thoughts; it was the power of the magician in front of her that awed her. The man turned around, and the same color of those eyes seemed to recognize her fully.

"Are you all right?" Mana wordlessly nodded and just stared at him awe. The sound of movement caught their attention, and they turned around to see the moth getting up.

"_You… you try to steal my power!_" Mana shivered and moved Neko and Kuriboh away from the moth's senses. She was not going to let the moth hurt them, and Mana wished that there must be another way to move them away from the moth.

"Mana." The young girl heard her name and looked up to the magician. He was focused on the Great Moth, but he seemed to be standing protectively in front of them.

Hold on a second. Mana didn't give her name to this stranger.

"How do you know my name?" The man didn't turn around, but he was responding.

"It doesn't matter. I would suggest that you get your friends away from here. They are going to need help than staying here to be protected." Mana wanted to defend her friends, but he was right. Neko wasn't in her best shape, and Kuriboh needed to lead them back to Lilith safely. Everyone needed to be on her best shape for anything happening in the forest, so Mana had to leave the moth to the stranger.

"Thank you." Mana whispered and helped Neko to her feet to escape away from the Great Moth. Since the stranger is here to help them escape, it meant that Mana could heal Neko away from the commotion.

0000

Mahado watched the young girl hold her friends away from the battle. She carried her feline friend and the fairy inside the forest, and Mahado turned his attention back to the Great Moth that was now screeching in fury. He held his staff in front of the insect and glared.

"Insect. You dare try to harm my student. I'll see to it that you are destroyed." The Great Moth screeched.

"_Your student? That valkyria is your student? That makes it easier for me!_" The insect flapped its wings, sending spores toward Mahado.

"Insect Barrier." The magician summoned a barrier around him, and the spores hit the barrier, emitting the dome shape over the magician. The wings continued to send out spores, but Mahado had another spell while holding the barrier up. It was simple, but at least he could catch the moth off guard.

"Sparks." On his command, a flare sparked on the Great Moth's head as it screamed in pain. The windy spores ceased, and Mahado dismissed the barrier. The Dark Magician knew that just powering up spells or powering up his attack couldn't destroy this insect. However, there was one spell he could do, but it was risky since it would strain his body and affect any other around him. The moth seemed to shake off the small attack, and Mahado knew that it was ready to send those spores again. He had only one chance on destroying the moth and possibly himself. He began muttering the incantation for his powerful attack and held the staff above his head.

"I call upon the Darkness, the illusion of the Light, and bring forth the core of power to eliminate those opposing it!" Mahado channeled his energy through the tip of his staff, and a dark energy warped around the orb and rapidly grew from the size to a fist to the size larger than a basketball. The size didn't look like it was able to destroy any creatures other than weaker ones, but the power was greater. The moth quivered under the intensity of the magician's power, but it refused to back down. It seems that its greed overpowered its instincts, and the Great Moth was going to charge toward Mahado.

"Begone! Diffusion Wave-Motion!" He sent out one wave toward the moth, and the moth seemed to be affected by the power. The moth screeched in pain, and he was sure that it caused internal damage inside its body. Mahado sent out another wave of power toward the moth, and the moth seemed to be weakened by every wave. A few waves later, the Great Moth couldn't handle it and screeched out its final breath before falling down to its side and bleeding profusely.

Mahado dismissed his attack, but the effects were great on him as it was great on the moth. He couldn't stand anymore and stumbled backwards, landing on his back and was staring up at the sky. The strain totaled his body, and Mahado couldn't get back up. He was exhausted and tired, but he didn't care. He was sure that Mana and her friends were away from the battle, and Mahado felt peace inside of him. Mana was alive and well, and he didn't have to worry about hurting Mana anymore.

_I… am relieved… to see you well once more… Mana…_


	5. Chapter 4: The Last Lesson

Chapter 4: The Last Lesson

"Uh… Auntie? Are you here?" Mana called out inside their home. Like the forest, the house seemed bright and clean, but there was no one inside. There were signs of dust floating where the windows are, and the kitchen was close to entrance. It looked like it was still in tact from all the commotion outside, and it seemed that the insect didn't rampage this area. Scanning around the area, Mana deemed the place clear and empty, and she thought that Lilith left the cabin.

It was strange. Lilith never left the house or around the area unless there was an emergency. When there was an emergency, the eldest person in the house would leave a note behind, and it would leave Mana to take care of Neko and continue studying without Lilith's help. Walking around the house to search for her missing aunt, Mana had a dreaded feeling that something might have happened to Lilith. She probably went searching for them and must have forgot to put a note on the kitchen table.

"Mistress! Neko and Man-nya are back! Where is Mistress?" Neko happily purred and bounced behind Mana like nothing happened to her. Kuriboh followed behind the girl and explored the upper level. Mana glanced at Neko in relief. The man saved them from the insect, and Mana had the chance to get Neko and Kuriboh away from the battle. When they were a few yards away from the spell caster and the Great Moth, Mana immediately healed her feline friend. For at least half a minute, Neko was back to her furry feet, and Kuriboh got out of its trauma. They had to hurry back to Lilith to make sure that she could help the spell caster in the forest and to keep them from getting into trouble. However, it was strange. She felt strong pulsations coming from the Dark Magician, and when those pulsations died down, Mana felt fear and anxiety creeping up her spine. What happened to the man?

"Neko. I don't think that Auntie Lilith is here. She is probably still out there searching for us." Mana explained to her friend, and Neko blinked.

"Does that mean that Neko and Man-nya have free time?" Mana giggled and sighed. It was good to see Neko healthy and acting like herself.

"No. We're still in trouble for not getting here on time like we used to. Lilith is probably mad out there and rampaging around the forest to find us."

"Which is why that you are going to your room, Mana." Lilith was standing in front of Mana, and the two girls didn't hear her come around or her footsteps. Mana and Neko jumped away from where Mana was standing, and they both met infuriated eyes. However, Mana looked closer. It did seem that her eyes were livid, but something about her that made her want to rethink her personality.

"Auntie!" Mana exclaimed, and Lilith shook her head.

"Mana, go to your room and change to the clothes that I hung up for you. I need to speak to Neko personally." Mana blinked and opened her mouth to ask her, but Lilith beat her by pointing down the hallway.

"Go." Mana pouted and grudgingly walked toward her room at the end of the hall. Reaching for the knob, Mana looked back a little before opening the door to her room.

Her room wasn't decorative or anything. The room was bare with wooden walls and floors. It had a simple white bed next to the window, and a polished wooden drawer next to her. There was a wardrobe on the other side of her bed, and there was clothes hanging on the door of the wardrobe. There was a medium size desk and a wooden chair with a few books set aside neatly.

The clothes Lilith selected were a blue bodice that started above the chest down to the cover of her hips. There was a touch of a yellow belt and pink trims on the edges, and her pink skirt covered her hips. A star symbol connected the same blue cloth around to cover her arms with a small cape flaring from behind. The clothing was hanging on the closed door of the wardrobe, but the other door was opened.

Handing on the other door, there were other similar colored accessories to match with the bodice. There were two blue gauntlets and two boots that had the same pink rims, but connecting on the elbows, top palms, and ankles had two colored gems, yellow and red. There was a yellow collar with a red gem dangling on the hook, and Mana remembered that Neko bought that for her on her last birthday. The last one was a little larger that would probably cover up her head, and the hat was like a wizard's hat. The only thing is that the hat is connected with a visor that Mana had always trouble when putting it on her head.

When Mana was about to touch her hat, she stopped and reminiscence about her accident. She truly couldn't remember how it happened, but she did remember wearing most of these when she was found. She knew that ordinary people didn't wear this, so she must have come from somewhere out there. Remembering back to the apprentice from the village and the spell caster in armor, their clothing was so much similar to hers in some ways. She wondered about the possibility on coming from where they live connected to how she looked like. Did she study in the same school the master and student were? Mana shook her head and grabbed the bodice first. No. Of course not. There are others who wore stranger clothes, and Mana would be known to be an ordinary person wearing the same strange clothes as everybody else. After a few minutes, she closed the wardrobes to observe herself from the mirror on the doors.

"Well… I don't look half bad." Doubts came into her mind after saying her appearance.

Mana sighed and glanced at the wand that was lying down on her bed. It looked like an apprentice wand with the red gem on the bottom and the curve on the top, and it was the size of her whole arm. It didn't look too impressive, but this wand was special to her. Eve gave her the wand when everyone celebrated her birthday a year after Mana was found. She always did healing and support magic with this wand, and it didn't fail her or broke on her. Sure there were some events that had mishaps and failures, but the wand never had a burnt or smudge on those occasions. Mana smiled and picked up the wand. This thing was the only connection to her mom, and she would be always careful with it around. Securing the wand to her belt, Mana turned around and caught something from the corner of her eye.

There was one other book that was sitting on the drawers away from the rest of the books. An ordinary red book glowered under the rays of the sun, and the golden linings that formed an eye over a star gleamed on the covers. Mana walked next to her bed and picked up the book. Sitting on the bed, she flipped the book open and flipped some pages around. Lilith always instructed her that Mana should always keep the book with her at all times except if Mana has to catch Neko's fish. She wondered why was this book so important. It had strange language that was different from human or elven language, and it was written so symbolic that Mana had to go back to the bookshelves to research on the languages. Alas, none of the books ever had this type of language, and the human and elven language couldn't provide the source of history behind it.

Mana managed to chose the time to stop reading from the illiterate book and close it in frustration. She flopped down on the bed with her arms spread out and stared at the ceiling. She didn't understand what happened today, and she was in a state of bewilderment and sadness. One hour ago, Neko had to drag Mana down to the village; the next thing she knew was the spell caster saved them from the powerful Great Moth. It was supposed to be a harmless curiosity in the village. Now, the Great Moth called her a "valkyria", a member of a powerful group that doesn't exist anymore, and the spell caster was the same man she bumped into who saved her. She was sure that he found her emitting the aura Lilith warned her to cover up, but he was facing the moth by himself. Now, she didn't know whether to be relieved or to be worried about him.

That spell caster… she remembered something about him. She held the visor over her eyes and looked at the design. His armor was similar to hers, but that wasn't the case. Something about him made her want to go back and help him, but she wasn't sure. Hold on. "Sure" wasn't the direct word Mana wanted; something about him made her feel uneasy. It was unfamiliar yet familiar to her that made her unsure. When she saw him for the first time, she wanted to say "Nice to meet you," but something else in her made her want her to say "I'm so glad to see you again." It frustrated her to no end, and she wanted answers from someone who knows her.

"Puh? Puh!" Kuriboh's voice ceased Mana's frustration, and the young girl shot up from bed and saw her winged furry friend floating behind the window.

"Kuriboh!" Waving her wand a bit, the window slid open, and the fairy soared straight to Mana and snuggled under her chin.

"Hehehe… How was your exploration, Kuriboh?" Mana giggled and ruffled the little fairy. This Winged Kuriboh could make Mana's sadness disappear and would always brighten her day when there were days Mana would be down. Unlike the other fairies that would shy away, Kuriboh was very adventurous and somewhat tempered from the rest of the fairies. Of course, fairies were known to be shy and curious, and Kuriboh used to be one of them. However, Mana, Neko, and Kuriboh spent time together for all those years, and Kuriboh brought out its true personality: adventurous, rebellious, and tempered to an extent. Neko and Mana would always bring out its sweet side, but with any other person, the fairy would bite.

"Mana. Are you ready?" Lilith's voice called out, and Mana jumped from her bed with Kuriboh in her arms. The furry creatures squeaked angrily, but Mana ignored it. She grabbed the book and held her wand and rushed to the door, swinging the door open.

"Sorry! I'm done now!" Lilith crossed her arms and glanced at the two before her. Mana looked behind Lilith to see Neko beside her, but… her friend wasn't there.

That was strange; Neko would never leave Lilith or Mana, mostly Lilith. Neko's story was that Lilith found her when she was still a baby, or kitten, and took her in. Eve and Lilith raised her for four years, and Neko was grateful for Lilith and served her for those years. If Lilith ordered her to go get Mana, Neko would bring Mana over Neko's shoulder. If she ordered Neko to protect the house, Neko would stand guard or hide in the trees. However, if Lilith ordered Neko to go somewhere far away, Neko would definitely refused and would do a lot of begging until Lilith would give up arguing. Now, Neko was not by Lilith's side, and something wasn't right in this homely home.

"Auntie? Where's Neko? What's going on?" Mana asked, and Lilith shook her head.

"Follow me, Mana." Her aunt turned around and walked down the hall, and Mana ran to keep up her fast pace. Mana wasn't sure where Lilith was leading her, but something wasn't right in this house. She could feel it.

Meanwhile, Kuriboh floated behind her but suddenly stopped. It turned around and began puffing and huffing fiercely. It seemed that it sensed something nearby, and being the guardian of many forests, Kuriboh definitely sensed something wrong.

"Kuriboh! Hurry up!" Mana frowned when Kuriboh flew into her face without looking. It was squeaking apologies, and Mana rubbed her face from the impact. She slightly smiled and patted the little creature, forgiving it for its clumsiness. When Mana let the flying fairy go forward, she frowned; her senses were being affected as well as she was feeling something very bad coming this way. She turned to see Lilith to ask her what was going one, but Lilith was waiting for her with… a trap door opened revealing stairs?

"Mana, in here, I will be teaching you the final lesson. You will be performing an offensive magic that was lost in the records before leaving this forest." Lilith stated and descended the stony stairs.

Mana should be ecstatic; Lilith was finally teaching her magic to attack. An offensive magic spell that she wanted, but her aunt said this would be the final lesson that would send Mana away from the forest. Mana didn't want to leave because this was her home; it was peaceful and tranquil than the bustling life in the festive town. Was this the result of wanting to learn an offensive magic? Now, she wanted to take back those words and learn more of those supporting magic because now, she felt like crying. Mana followed her with Kuriboh clutching to her visor.

"Auntie! What do you mean?" Mana chased her aunt down the stairs and into the darkness of the room. She had no knowledge of this room, and her presence is now in the basement of her own home.

0000

Meanwhile, Neko was covering her nose and tried not to heave the digested food out of her mouth. In front of her, the putrid smell of the insect's blood was all over the deceased body in one place, and she could smell the horrible stench from yards away. She would rather be back in her mistress's place than to deal with the smell where the battle took place. However, Lilith instructed her to follow her instructions with no hesitation or reluctance but resistance of attachment.

"Blech! Neko _hates_ the smell of insect blood. Insect blood smells like old fish that Man-nya always throw away. Mistress Lilith… why does Mistress Lilith want me to bring Mr. Dark Magician to Neko's favorite place? Why?" Neko whined as she stared down at the unconscious purple clad magician. A few yards away from the insect, he seemed to be extremely tired after fighting the Great Moth and must have collapsed after the battle. However, she did not see any signs of wounds or scratches on his armor or clothes, and her instincts were screaming that this man was _strong_. Neko was apprehensive and started poking the human, but he made no movement, assuming that he was really spent on the battle. Inhaling a breath between her paws, the feline held her breath and started picking up the man.

"Augh… Mr. Dark Magician is heavier than Neko thought." She grunted and carried him on her back. She also removed the weapon from his hand if he suddenly woke up and started attacking her. Therefore, she clenched her shaft of the staff with her fangs and teeth as she let his upper body lean over her right shoulder. She would have flew with the insect wings, but with the weight on her back and shoulder, her instincts were telling her not to fly in this tight forest. With the man unconscious on her back and his staff in her mouth, Neko knew of a place, and she dragged her whole being deeper into the forest.

"Mana…" Her ears twitched and glanced at the man. He seemed to be mumbling in his sleep, so the feline human tried to hear some words from him. On her way to her favorite place, all she got was her friend's name, some kind of lesson that she does not know, and an "I'm sorry." She does not know where that came from, but she was wondering what happened to him. She smelt something salty somewhere and looked around. It was strong and somehow nearby, but she could not find the source. She shrugged and continued her destination.

_Neko does not like Mistress's idea, but… Neko promises Mistress to watch over Man-nya. Neko will stay by Man-nya's side through good and bad._

If she would have looked closely, she would have seen a tear from the man she was carrying.

0000

It was dark; from the rooftop down to this basement, Mana would prefer the roof where she could _actually_ see than not see what is happening. She always hated the darkness ever since she was found, and she would always have Neko nearby to remind her that she was not alone. She would edge closer to the window where Neko would sleep and cuddle up with the tail where the blade is away from her and covered it with the handkerchief and later a smaller pillow. If Neko wasn't around, Kuriboh would be right beside her until Neko would arrive in the middle of the night.

She took each step with caution and ventured down deeper into the darkness, clutching her wand with both hands tighter. The Winged Kuriboh was under her visor and took a peek before hiding behind the visor. When Mana felt a different texture, her last step was off the wooden stairs and onto the stone floor. The whole basement should have felt cold and isolated, but she knew that her aunt was here, giving this warm and protective feeling. However, the darkness was still scaring her. When she took one step, a single flame lit on a candle. She was surprised as she stared at the light, and she wondered if this has to do anything with the final lesson on an offensive magic.

Mana took another step, and another flame lit on another candle a bit further away from the previous one. As she walked down the path where candles are lit mysteriously, Kuriboh made a sound under her visor and peeked out, watching the lights flicker and revealing the path. The row of lights began to spread in a larger number of flames, and Mana stopped her tracks to see many rows of candles revealing a room. The basement had many candles on each of the four walls, and there were series of circles drawn together and stopped at the center of the large circle. There were complicated writing on the floor that she could not recognized. It wasn't elven or human. Heck, it wasn't like any language she could recognize, and they… had a source of ba under them! Mana could feel the ba on the floor, and it feels like her aunt's ba was in there. However, it seemed that the stream of energy was at a standstill. Looking for Lilith, she found her aunt flipping pages that seemed to be a magic book. Above her aunt, there were strange gatherings of elemental ba. She knows the types of elements; they were the four elements: fire, water, wind, and earth. They were floating in a ball form, and they could be seen clearly. Lilith seemed to mumble a few words before turning around to face her adopted niece, Mana.

"Mana. This will be your final lesson." Lilith walked closer to Mana before she stopped at the center of the circle.

"I will be teaching you an offensive magic that would be your protection. As you learn before, every spell caster has an original spell that would use only a little ba, and you will learn that Eve and I have learned. Also, as you learn more spells, the new spells will weaken you, but…" Lilith smiled gently.

"I believe that you will master them with that attitude of yours." Mana frowned and gave her a deadpanned look.

"I don't know whether to thank you or to be mad at you." Lilith smiled a bit more but later frowned. Her body faced to the side as her eyes still stared at Mana.

"Enough chat. Lesson time. Pay attention, and take this seriously." Mana nodded and held her wand out. Lilith closed her eyes, and her whole body began to glow in a light with her hair slightly floating. Mana was awed and never saw this part; her aunt would just stand there and focus on one thing while her spell would work outside of their home like she didn't make any effort on chanting or make signs of a spell. Lilith opened her eyes and held her hand out toward the side.

"Learn this." A copy form of Lilith appeared in front of her aunt, and Lilith's hand glowed.

"The glow you saw around me is my ba. I gather my ba inside of me as well as my surroundings that emits the ba of different elements. Every element has a ba, including the darkness and light. Since I focus more on darkness, I am using the dark ba." Her hand glowed, and a dark energy formed away from her palm.

"Now, focus your ba into one set and gather your ba with any ba above me or around me." The dark energy formed into a ball, and her arm was shaking.

"It will grow larger until you cannot handle the massive ba. When you cannot handle it anymore, throw it to your enemy." Her arm threw the ball straight at her clone, and the clone dispersed. Mana and Kuriboh gaped at the power of Lilith, and Mana could feel the power of that blast. Lilith's power was easily felt and pushed Mana back, and Mana finally realized that Lilith may have more power than she would see.

"I call this Dark Burning Attack. Eve and I have learned this when we are young, and it has helped us get through our journey. It will leave your opponent stunned and sight impaired, depending on your choice of one element." Lilith now focused on Mana who was still trying to connect the demonstration to her mind.

"Now, Mana. I want you attack my doppelganger to improve your attack. I will not attack you, but you must be familiar or comfortable with an element. It could be fire, water, wind, or earth, or it could be dark or light around you. You're final lesson is to destroy my copy with your designated attack, and this will be the end of your final lesson before you leave. After you leave, you pass my lessons to venture on your own." Another form of Lilith appeared in front of Lilith through Lilith's ba and stared Mana down. The student held the tip of her staff toward her aunt and closed her eyes. Mana concentrated her ba and form it in front of her. Making sure she was at a safe distance, she focused on the fire first and tried gathering the fiery ba to her hand. Reading about the fire element, it tends to be violent and dangerous because of its unstable ba, but with someone who has more ba, he can control fire to use it on his whims. As she gathered the fire element to her staff, she seemed that she could control the fire element. However, the fire was violently going against her ba and exploded in front of her. It didn't cause damage, but it did threw her off her stance.

"Okay. Maybe fire isn't a best choice." Mana held her hand out and tried the water element. Water seems to be one of the easier elements to control, but it was also one of the hardest since grace and fluidity needs to be involve with the user. She focused her own and tried to gather the water in, but she could not control the long stream of water, and the water continued to splash in front of her before it could connect with her ba. Therefore, water was out of the question.

Her next choice was the wind element. The wind element was known to be the most difficult element to control since it has no mass, and advance spell casters knew where the wind blows and how to go against it. Trying her luck, Mana tried to grab the ba. However, she could not gather any, so the wind element was off her potential list.

The earth element seemed to be an easier choice since it does have mass, and she studied that many creatures were created through earth elements. Her ba tried to attract the earthy ba into her hand, and she thought she succeeded as a steady stream was going straight for her ba. However, before it could touch together, the soil turned into dust and fluttered down to the ground.

Mana was very frustrated; she couldn't get the main for elements to connect to her! She was hoping to gather them to form an attack, but it seems that her elemental sense could only attract either the darkness or light. She never liked the darkness because of her fear, so she decided that the light element would do. Gathering her ba into her staff, she concentrated on gathering the light around her. The candles were flickering, but the light was slowly transferring to her staff. Her ba was connecting with the light! It was possible, and Mana opened her eyes.

"Dark Burning Attack!"

She formed her energy into balls of light and threw her ba and the light element at the copy. They were shot toward the copy in multiple energy balls, but many disappeared as only a few reached to the copy with small bursts of energy. Her eyes blinked; something was not right. Mana was able to connect with the light and form some kind of offensive attack, but her attacks died when it reached to her aunt's copy. Mana tried again and threw her attack at the copy.

"Dark Burning Attack!" More energy burst out of her attack and aimed straight toward the copy, but the results were the same. Many have died down while only a few were able to reach to the copy with even less results. The student was very frustrated, and Kuriboh was hanging onto the visor.

"How come it's not going through? My ba is connected with the light element, but why is it not going through?" Lilith frowned and pondered.

"Hmm… try using the dark element." Mana froze and stared at her aunt in disbelief. She really doesn't want to use the dark element because she feared it, and it might corrupt her in some way.

"Auntie. Please, let me try again! I'll get this to work!" Mana pleaded, but her aunt glared at her.

"Give it a chance, Mana. Try it once because I don't think we have enough time."

_Enough… time?_ Mana questioned and asked.

"What… do you mean... don't have enough time?" Lilith turned her head away and whispered.

"Please, Mana. I can't tell you, so please hurry up. Try the darkness." Mana faltered for a bit and held her staff toward the clone. Focusing her energy in one place, she reluctantly called in the dark element. The dark element connected with her ba, and she was surprised with the results. She could… actually control the dark and light at the same time! The darkness was giving the same feeling as the light, but she was worried that it may not work at the same time.

"Now… try gathering the light with your ba and connect the darkness with the light."

_Wha-? How? Isn't that… impossible?_

"Aunt Lilith. Isn't connecting the light and dark together impossible? That method has been tested, and connecting the two opposing elements has resulted inner explosions and death!" Mana exclaimed, but Lilith responded.

"Trust me, Mana. It will not kill you." Mana was reluctant, but Lilith said to trust her. Her aunt protected her from harm in these years, and not an event of betrayal came across the young spell caster's mind that would bring Lilith guilty over something. Listening to Lilith with much hesitation, she gathered the light element inside her staff and waited for her staff to explode. Instead of the result, she could feel more power from her staff, and it was shaking her arm. It wasn't like the fire element's effect on connecting her ba; it was fluid and calming. Both the light and dark elements were giving her power that she is now first time experiencing in her life, and it wasn't killing her. Gathering the power in front of her, she held her ba and the two elemental powers straight at the clone. The energy ball was meddling with dark and light brightness, and her staff was shaking.

"Dark Burning…" Then, she released the power.

"Attack!" The energy ball aimed straight at the clone at a fast speed, and the clone went against the ball of meddling light. However, both the light and the clone exploded, leaving Mana, Kuriboh, and Lilith covering their eyes from the brilliance of light. A few seconds later, the light died down and left the room quiet and still.

"Amazing…" Lilith started and lowered her arm away from her eyes. Mana did the same, and Kuriboh peeked under the visor.

"To control both the light and dark elements without the result of death, I would say that you are the only person who has ever controlled both opposing elements." Lilith smiled and dropped her arm with some kind of happiness and yet sadness.

"Mana." The young girl looked up and saw the strange look of relief, happiness, and sadness on Lilith's face.

"You… have passed. I can no longer teach you like I have done, and I can release you to the world." Lilith walked toward Mana with heavy, weary steps, and Mana felt some kind of happiness and joy inside her. However, to no longer become Lilith's student have meant that she could no longer stay here… right? When Lilith was in front of her, he raised both of her arms and wrapped them around Mana's shoulder, pulling her closer.

"You are now grown, and I can no longer look after you. You have passed my teachings, and now, go find a better one to control your own powers. If I'm right,… I think… I think you are the only person who could make the impossible things possible." Mana's heart tightened, and she unconsciously held her aunt's arms with a bit of tightness.

"Auntie… what do you mean? You are my teacher, and I am your student. No one is better than you because you have taught me and have taken care of me." Lilith pulled away from her niece and released her, making Mana do the same.

"Mana. The hidden power and knowledge in you is beyond my teachings. Eve and I are but guardians of this forest, and you possess a power that no creature could obtain. You have much to learn, and I wish to teach you more about the world." Lilith frowned and turned around, walking toward the book.

"However, a darker force is coming this way to abuse you and your power, and I must send you to a safer place." Mana stuttered and turned around.

"D-Darker force?" Mana and Kuriboh felt the vibrations of the earth and above them. It sounded like stomping and shouting above their heads: massive stomps and vicious shouts. How did they both miss this? Was this the result of learning the last lesson? How did this darker force found them? Unless…

"Auntie. Was this the last lesson because of the ba we both used?" Mana asked and turned around to face Lilith holding a bag in front of her. Smiling sadly, Lilith answered.

"Mana. I have never told you this before, but your mother, Eve, has the power to sense the future. She has foreseen the dangers in this place and the timing of the danger taken place. She… has sensed that a darker force is coming to capture you and use you for their power that would end the world." Lilith gave Mana the bag and placed her hands on Mana's arms to hold the bag tightly.

"Eve said that you must travel with a Dark Magician and learn under him to control your power as well as learn more spells. You will travel with Neko, Kuriboh, and many other comrades around the world that you may never have seen, and you will learn much of your forgotten memories and your history. It will be a difficult journey for you, but I know that you will get through this long journey." Lilith released her shaking hands away from Mana and stepped back.

"I can no longer be your teacher because I am going to send you somewhere far away from this place into a safer area with Neko waiting for you." Mana grabbed her aunt's sleeve.

"No! Auntie! Wait Are you doing to send me somewhere and leave you to die?" Her aunt didn't respond. 

"I'm not leaving you!" The young girl exclaimed and tried to grab her wrist. She felt betrayed, angry, and overall upset on this turn of events. She was going to say that she needs her aunt to go with her and get away from this place, but her whole body suddenly couldn't move as Lilith pried the grasping fingers off the sleeve. Kuriboh tried to help, but it, too, was frozen on trying to get out of Mana's visor. Lilith continued to walk away from Mana and said her final words.

"Mana. I have a request." Mana tried to deny the events happening to her.

"No…"

"Please, take care of yourself."

"Please! Auntie!"

"Continue living for your mother…"

"No! Auntie!"

"…for me…" When Lilith stepped away from Mana far enough, the circle began to glow. Lilith turned her head toward Mana to shed the very first tears Mana will ever see.

"Your mother and I will be watching you. Farewell, dearest Mana."

0000

Cobalt eyes slowly opened up and stared up at the enclosed scene in front of him. He was still in the forest, but something was telling him that nothing malicious was around him. He got up very slowly to not receive a head rush and looked around his surroundings. Instead of waking up where the Great Moth was killed, he was near a lake that glowed in front of him. The plants around him were glowing blue around the lake, and the trees had shades of azure all around. This place had signs of tranquility, and there were signs of life with fairies floating the lake to recover from the battle. Mahado felt weak and wanted to rest more, but his colleagues may have been searching for him. Slowly standing up, the Dark Magician tried to balance himself only to find his staff gone. Alarmed, he tried to search for his only weapon that resulted into a snorting laughter.

"Having problem in finding the stick?" Walking toward Mahado, the same creature, which hung around with his student, was walking toward him. The strange Nekogal was throwing her tail side to side like before, and he knew that he should not agitate her any further. She was holding some kind of cloth on her shoulder and Mahado kept silent and glanced around to find … his staff! She must have had it ever since he was unconscious.

"Neko has the magician's stick, so Neko doesn't get attack!" The feline humanoid cat, named Neko, grinned and started flipping the staff on her paw before grabbing it and held it behind her back. Mahado clenched his fists, calculating a way to grab his staff away from the creature. However, he was drained by that final attack he used on the Great Moth. Neko was coming closer but stopped a few feet away. Her carefree smile turned into a frown, and she pointed at the magician in front of her.

"Does the magician promise not to attack Neko? Neko has the magician's stick, and if Neko gives the stick back to the magician, the magician cannot do any spells or attack Neko while Neko sets up something on the ground." The feline human asked. Mahado knew that the feline human still did not trust him, and he felt the feelings are mutual. However, he was exhausted and was willing to accept her terms to get his staff back. He couldn't cast any strong spells against her, so he would agree to her terms.

"I promise." Neko frowned a bit more and asked one more time.

"The magician promise? Really, really promise?" Mahado unclenched his fists and stood up normally with no signs of threats in order to gain trust in her.

"I am a man of my word. I said to myself that if I were to turn back on my promise, I am not worthy to become a Dark Magician." Neko frowned and scratched her ears with a confused face.

"Neko doesn't understand everything, but Neko is guessing that magician is promising Neko to not attack." Mahado was getting annoyed of her incomprehensiveness, but he was patient.

"Yes." Neko sighed.

"Fine."

She threw the staff at him, which Mahado grabbed it at ease. He put the end of the staff down to the ground and held it to keep his balance up. He was relieved that he has his weapon back, and Mahado was going to signal for help. However, he promised no magic around the humanoid cat, so he observed what Neko was doing. The humanoid cat grabbed the two edges of the cloth and flicked the other side of the cloth. She gently placed the cloth down on the ground and placed rocks on the corners. Mahado was curious what she was doing and walked closer to the cloth, but Neko's eyes flicked toward the magician. Mahado stopped and held his free hand up.

"I will not do anything; I just want to observe." Neko frowned and looked back. Mahado looked at the ground and was taken aback. On the sheet, there were several circles that had a familiar encryption around each circle. However, three circles were locked like rings that did not cross each other, and it left the center open and untouched. Mahado glanced at the feline human. She seemed to not care for a bit or responded, and the feline human looked like she was anticipating something to happen. Later, he felt a great source of ba coming from the sheet and turned his attention to the source. The lines glowed so brightly that both Mahado and Neko covered their eyes, and they heard a faint voice that became louder and louder.

"Auntie Lilith!"

_Mana!_


End file.
